A recent survey conducted in the United Kingdom revealed that 33% of all customers regularly steal through the do-it-yourself checkout area. Retailers estimate that such transactions generate a shrinkage rate of 3.97%, more than 122% higher than the overall shrinkage rate. Yet, more and more retailers seek to save labor costs and improve their customer shopping experiences by adopting “do-it-yourself” checkout solutions.
The three most common do-it-yourself checkout solutions are:                a. Self-Checkout Terminals—machines that provide a mechanism for customers to process their own purchases from a retailer.        b. Handheld Self-Scan Devices—handheld devices that provide customers the ability to scan items while they shop. Checkout is usually done at a self-checkout terminal without having to scan the products again.        c. Mobile Shopping—offers similar experience as handheld devices, only that shoppers use their own mobile device to scan items.        
A recent survey conducted in the United Kingdom revealed that 33% of all customers regularly steal through the do-it-yourself checkout area. Retailers estimate that such transactions generate a shrinkage rate of 3.97%, more than 122% higher than the overall shrinkage rate. Yet, more and more retailers seek to save labor costs and improve their customer shopping experiences by adopting “do-it-yourself” checkout solutions.
In attempt to reduce retail losses on “do-it-yourself” checkout touchpoints, retailers often apply a rescan solution where a certain percentage of the transactions are scanned again by a store employee to make sure no items were missed by the shopper. If the rescan finds an item that was missing in the original transaction, then the rescan reveals a possible fraud attempt or a customer scanning error. Regardless, both lead to shrinkage if not caught. Typically, retailers seek to run as many justified rescans that detect missed items as possible, while maintaining an overall low rescan rate to preserve good customer experiences.